My 30-Day Hydration Makeover
As a Nuun employee you might assume that I’m already super hydrated, and a year ago you might have been right! Working in the Nuun headquarters had a number of advantages including a limitless supply of free Nuun. It was totally normal to see lines forming at the water cooler as people filled their giant water bottles several times a day. Yes, we were a very hydrated office and I like to think that I was also very hydrated when I worked there. These days though I’m working from home and I don’t have the same constant enthusiasm for being hydrated. After my morning tea I’ll sometimes go the entire day forgetting to even get a glass of water on my desk. Other times I get ambitious and fill a giant Nalgene bottle only to leave it sitting on my desk untouched for a week. I know, not a good look for someone who works in hydration. So, when Nuun announced the launch of a 30 Day Hydration Kit I jumped at the opportunity to try it. Here's what happened…
The first week:
Peeing. So much peeing. Yes, I know this is a lot to share with strangers on the internet but it’s the truth and this article is for SCIENCE. And SCIENCE requires that I tell you that the first week of this challenge had me in and out of the bathroom like a moody teenager at an awkward family function. Significantly less crying though, so that’s nice.
In addition to having to pee all the dang time, the first week was also all about getting familiar with the products and how to incorporate them into my daily routine. Since I work for Nuun you’d probably think that this part of the program wouldn’t hold any surprises. Well, you’d be wrong. This week I discovered that you can drink Nuun Immunity HOT and FOR BREAKFAST. Ok, the kit doesn’t say anything about drinking Nuun Immunity hot, but I’m here to tell you that you can and it’s great. I’m not a morning person and breakfast is my least favorite meal so adding Nuun Immunity to my usual minimal breakfast was really nice.
The second week:
By the second week I was getting into the swing of my new and improved hydration routine. I knew where all my water bottles were in the house and I realized that my favorite vessel for consuming Nuun is actually a large ceramic mug with no handle. Why? Because it can be hot or cold, it fits in my car’s cup holder, and it’s cute. I also noticed my skin cleared up when I went to take a cute holiday photo and realized I didn’t need to use concealer. I don’t get a ton of acne, but I typically have a couple red spots around my chin. This was a very exciting development.
I was also sleeping better because at that point I was drinking Nuun Rest almost every night. I never really liked Nuun Rest before this month. I thought it was just for athletes because of the magnesium. Also, I thought the foamy bubbles on top were weird. Well, I was wrong, and I am sorry. Nuun Rest is magic in a mug and the sleep I get after drinking it is out of this world. Even holiday-induced anxiety couldn’t keep me up after drinking this.
The third week:
I think the third week was when I understood the real impact of proper hydration in my daily life. Before that I had enjoyed the obvious benefits of hydration like less skin irritation and better sleep, but I didn’t really think about what else was going on in my body. Well, that changed in a big way. Between the 2nd and 3rd weeks I stayed the weekend at an Airbnb in the mountains to do some hiking. The trip was a last-minute decision and my packing for it was disorganized and absolutely haphazard. You can see where I’m going with this: I forgot the Nuun! Actually, I didn’t even bring a water bottle. This was really dumb. But I realized my mistake when I woke up on Saturday to make myself a hot cup of Nuun Immunity only to discover that I was woefully unprepared. To make matters worse, the Airbnb where I was staying only had small glass cups, so I had to keep refilling them over and over again and that was super annoying.
I went for a hike without a water bottle and even though it was a short hike I still knew that I had messed up by the way my head was aching when I got back to my car. I drank as much water as I could out of those tiny glasses and woke up the next day eager to get back to my house, my water bottles, and my Nuun.
I got home, rehydrated aggressively, and went to bed feeling much better, but something about the trip had thrown off my routine. On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the third week I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up with my hydration. I was always setting down my water bottle and forgetting about it or drinking a lot in the morning and then nothing for hours and hours. And the weirdest part wasn’t that I started to feel bad. I actually fully expected that because I could see that I wasn’t hydrating effectively. The weirdest part was how familiar feeling bad felt.
The biggest and most obvious example of that was my afternoon slump. I didn’t realize that I had actually stopped having that yucky afternoon fog until it came back. Suddenly I’m staring at my computer screen reading the same sentence over and over again. Suddenly I’m staring at my computer screen reading the same sentence over and over again. Suddenly I’m staring at my computer screen reading the same sentence over and over again. And I realized: Coffee won’t fix this—Hydration will! So Thursday and Friday I recommitted myself to my new hydration routine and just like that, my afternoon fog lifted. I went into the weekend feeling like a champion.
The fourth week:
The fourth week was essentially a victory lap for me. I was hydrating like a champion and feeling really smug about it too. My morning starts with tea and Immunity. I have a whole little Nuun station set up in my spare bedroom where I do yoga a few times a week. Nuun Rest is my new BFF. It’s my Friday tradition to make some Nuun Rest and fall asleep on the couch with my dog. Glamourous, I know. When I think about moving forward with maintaining my hydration after my 30-Day kit runs out I think I’ll keep Nuun Immunity as part of my morning routine, and I’ll keep Nuun Rest as part of my evening routine as needed, but I’m going to stick to Nuun Sport just during and after a workout. Nuun Vitamins are a great treat when I need something to make water more fun, but I don’t think I need them to be part of my daily hydration schedule.
Overall, the biggest surprises for me have been the extra energy I didn’t even know I was missing out on and the fact that my already pretty nonexistent acne cleared up even more. I think the intentionality around hydration was also very important for me. It made me slow down and really try to feel what my body needed. Also, I got in a lot of extra steps on my FitBit with all the extra trips to the bathroom. For someone who works from home and has a dog that thinks walking around the block is an adventure that’s a pretty big deal.
If you’re interested in seeing what your life would look like after 30 days of optimal hydration, I highly recommend Nuun’s 30 Day Hydration Kit. It has the tools, tips, and knowledge that you need to overhaul your hydration routine.
